Students Join Striking Teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky to Protest by the Thousands

Thousands of teachers, students, parents, and supporters for increased education funding poured into the Oklahoma state capitol on Tuesday, April 3, for a second day of protest, occupying the entire House gallery, chanting for hours on every floor of the building and cramming into the offices of their lawmakers. According to USA Today, the strike affected the 10 largest school districts in the state, and at least 234,000 students. A large number of those students and other protesters showed up to support their teachers, who traveled to the capitol from areas throughout the state to demand change.

Last week, Governor Mary Fallin signed a measure giving teachers a $6,100 raise. While many expressed gratitude for the pay increase, teachers at Tuesday's rally told Teen Vogue that a small raise still doesn't address issues with crumbling buildings, outdated textbooks, and underpaid support staff like cafeteria workers and janitors.

"[We're here] in hopes that we can just make a living wage and a situation where students can just learn and not worry about whether a ceiling tile is going to fall on them or termites are eating the building," Amanda Jakubovitz, who teaches at Washington Elementary in Norman, Oklahoma, tells Teen Vogue. Teachers are asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in increased education funding, and those who spoke to Teen Vogue say they are willing to strike as long as that may take. Oklahoma City Public Schools announced that schools would remain closed on Wednesday, April 4.

Williams, who comes from a long line of teachers, was at the Oklahoma capitol with his mom in 1990, the last time educators rallied the building to demand more funding. As a 9-year-old, it was a powerful lesson in civics for young Williams.

"We've got once in a generation to do something for education," he says. "We did it 28 years ago. Now is the opportunity. We know anything [lawmakers] do, they're not going to come back and fix."

As an entry line into the capitol snaked its way around the corner, inside thousands of protesters, many dressed in red, chanted in the rotundas. Large holes in the center of each floor allow anyone standing on the fourth floor to peer down to the first. As protesters rallied, their unified voices carried through the center of the building, booming down every marble hallway in the state capitol. Among the chants, which lasted for several minutes and would carry on sporadically throughout the day, were, "This is our house," "We will remember in November," and "Where’s our funding" — which was answered quickly with, “In your pockets," directed at lawmakers, who were working at the capitol on Tuesday.

Around each corner, a family wearing shirts displaying the name of their school or an organizer coaching their fellow teachers on how to engage their lawmaker and reminding them of the current funding-bill status could be found. Down most hallways, lawmakers could often be seen standing outside their office, surrounded by dozens of teachers and parents asking pointed questions.

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"This is an amazing civics lesson for our students on the importance of their voices," Aurora Lora tells Teen Vogue while standing in the bustling rotunda. In February, Lora left her job after four years as superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools. Lora says she had to cut $30 million from the district's budget in her first 30 days on the job.

"I laid off 30 people, closed schools, shortened the school year, cut arts, cut athletics, eliminated textbook purchases. In year two, not only did the funding not come back, I had to cut another $10 million, raising class sizes again,” she says.

Lora says she recently marched with students in the March for Our Lives rally, and that protest and this week's teacher walkout in Oklahoma make her believe that students are increasingly learning how to use their voice in politics.

"I think we are growing a generation of kids who realize that their vote matters and when you turn 18 you’ve got to register," she says. "Because if you want to change the system, we've got to have people elected in office that are going to make smart decisions for our country."

For the past few days, Cameron Olbert, a 16-year-old sophomore at Classen School of Advanced Studies, has been going to a nearby church every morning, where his AP history teacher gives him and some of his classmates history lectures before they head to the capitol to join the protest, he tells Teen Vogue.

"I've wanted to run for politics and serve in this building one day," Olbert says. "So coming to this protest and seeing my peer group become active in politics and issues that affect us has been incredibly inspiring for me."

According to Diana Avila, a 15-year-old freshman at Jenks High School in Jenks, Oklahoma, outside of Tulsa, and the current feeling among many of her peers is that it's time to start becoming politically aware, if not active.

"This moment in time, we can really participate in politics as kids," Avila tells Teen Vogue. "I can really see that. I think that's making us realize as kids that we have a voice. We have a say in what happens because it has to do with us; it's our future. And I think that's really cool."